MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) wins elimination game, program first at World Series
FINAL SCORE
No. 10 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) (35-27) def. No. 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) (49-8), 4-3 | Box Score
- MidAmerica Nazarene will play the loser of No. 1 Southeastern (55-4) and No. 9 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (34-16) on Monday at 11:35 a.m. PT/1:35 p.m. CT
- Cumberlands has been eliminated from championship play
GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS
- This matchup featured two teams looking to capture their first win at the World Series as they had combined to go 0-4 previously
- The game started off with a double to left center by Raphy Almanzar, but Zach Trevino was able to escape the inning with no runs scored
- During the bottom of the first, the Pioneers had runners on first and second when a single by Dionthan Cornet, just inside the third base line, scored Brycen Sherwood
- Cumberlands starter Hunter Risby (L 7-3) need 35 pitches to get out of the first inning as the MNU batters went deep into their at-bats with multiple foul balls; He did record two strikeouts to end the frame and six overall
- A two-out walk drawn by Joshua Hinojos set up a two run homer to left field, off the bat of Sean Maple, to give MNU a 3-0 lead after two innings
- The Patriots got on the board in the third as a groundout from Sujel Arias brought Almanzar home
- In the bottom of the same inning, Cornet launched a solo homer to left, bringing it to a 4-1 count after three
- Cumberlands was able to grab back one of the runs in the top of the six as they capitalized on the drawn walk by Evan St. Claire who was brought home off the double from Josh Simon
- Still needing a pair of runs, the Patriots had runners on second and third in the top of the eight which caused a pitching change for the MNU
- Pioneer starter Trevino (W 10-2) struck out nine of 32 batters faced across 7.1 innings, tossing 116 total pitches
- A fielder’s choice from Ben Snapp scored Max Harper and brought the score to a 4-3 deficit for UC
- Down to the team’s final out, Almanzar drew a walk and Charlie Muniz’s base knock to left gave the Patriots the chance they needed
- However, Reece Helland (Sv, 4) got the five outs he needed to move the Pioneers forward
- Sherwood and Cornet each had two hits on the game and combined for two scores and a pair of RBI for MidAmerica Nazarene
- In the loss, Muniz, St. Claire, and Simon recorded six of the team’s seven hits
COVERAGE
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